Couchiching Conservancy receives $5,000
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Posted By JENNIFER BURDEN, The Packet & Times
Updated 3 months ago
JENNIFER BURDEN Packet & TimesMark Bisset (left), executive director of the Couchiching Conservancy, Kathi Shropshire, bank manager of the Meridan Credit Union, Wendy Timpano, executive director of the Community Foundation of Orillia and Area, Isabelle Thiess, president of the Couchiching Conservancy's board of directors, and Jane Ball, captain of the the joint dragon boat team, hold the $5,000 cheque donated by the Meridian Credit union to the Couchiching Conservancy on Wednesday.
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Meridian Credit Union pledged $5,000 to the Couchiching Conservancy Land Stewardship endowment fund on Wednesday.
The Couchiching Conservancy, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Orillia and Area, established the fund in recognition of the financial support needed to protect and preserve local land today and in the future.
Through the Community Foundation of Orillia and Area, every dollar in the fund, up to $20,000, will be matched by the Community Foundations of Canada and the Ontario Land Trust Alliance.
The conservancy cares for over 9,000 acres of land in the area by maintaining recreational trail systems, repairing damages, cleaning up garbage, habitat enhancement, the removal of invasive species and more.
"All those sorts of things cost a ton of money and it's difficult to get funding for that kind of work. This fund will help us do that," said Mark Bisset, executive director of the Couchiching Conservancy. "This is as much for the future as it is the present."
He added that partnerships, such as the one with the Community Foundation, are "absolutely essential" to the success of the conservancy.
Meridian Credit Union's pledge is matching the joint Couchiching Conservancy and Community Foundation dragon boat team's promise to raise $5,000 for the endowment fund. Orillia's dragon boat festival takes place September 25.
Kathi Shropshire, branch manager at Meridian Credit Union, said environmental initiatives are a major investment objective of the bank.
"It's important to look after our environment and land for our children and grandchildren," Shropshire said. "It's not just here today, it's here many years down the road."
Bisset said Meridan's pledge is "another piece in the puzzle" that will help the conservancy continue to do their work.
"We're really, really grateful to Meridian for coming forward and supporting us," he said.
jburden@orilliapacket.com
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